1989's Mistletoe Mysteries, a collection of all-new Yuletide mystery stories written by today's top practitioners of the cozy mystery, was a runaway success with critics and fans. Now bestselling novelist Charlotte MacLeod returns to her editor's seat with Christmas Stalkings.
Contents
CHARLOTTE MACLEOD - COUNTERFEIT CHRISTMAS
REGINALD HILL - THE RUNNING OF THE DEER
ELIZABETH PETERS - LIZ PETERS, PI
MEDORA SALE - ANGELS
JOHN MALCOLM - THE ONLY TRUE UNRAVELLER
DOROTHY CANNELL - THE JANUARY SALE STOWAWAY
BILL CRIDER - THE SANTA CLAUS CAPER
PATRICIA MOYES - FAMILY CHRISTMAS
EVELYN E. SMITH - MISS MELVILLE REJOICES
ERIC WRIGHT - TWO IN THE BUSH
MICKEY FRIEDMAN - THE FABULOUS NICK
ROBERT BARNARD - A POLITICAL NECESSITY
MARGARET MARON - FRUITCAKE, MERCY, AND BLACK-EYED PEAS
The yuletide cheer and seasonal mayhem wrapped up in these 13 tales, tending to the cozy rather than the graphic side of mystery, make a package suitable for any reader's Christmas list. Dorothy Cannell tells how a woman foils a vengeful Santa in "The January Sale Stowaway." With "The Fabulous Nick" Mickey Friedman spins her magic around a jolly old Claus who must clear a man jailed for jewel theft so that his son will stop throwing darts at Santa's picture. Evelyn E. Smith shares her sharp sense of humor and her series character in "Miss Melville Rejoices," in which artist and assassin Miss Melville vows to rid the world of a sadistic dictator at a Christmas Eve party. Reginald Hill, Elizabeth Peters, Robert Barnard, Patricia Moyes, Eric Wright and MacLeod ( The Gladstone Bag ) herself are among other authors represented in this entertaining compilation.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Kirkus Reviews
Continuing in the tradition of her 1989 collection, Mistletoe Mysteries, MacLeod and 12 others offer 13 Christmas-themed stories of, mostly, the ``Bah, humbug!'' variety. Eric Wright's Salvation Army scam--a twist on a twist on a twist--is mildly diverting, and Robert Barnard's domestic imbroglio, with its gift-wrapped bomb, is drolly told, while Margaret Maron welcomes the New Year southern- style--with fruitcake, stolen diapers, and a Faulknerian illegitimacy. Dorothy Cannell, in cloying voice, tackles the January sales; Mickey Friedman, New York-style, hassles the neighbors; and editor MacLeod, whose oversweet author introductions will make you want to put coal in her stocking, brings forged twenties to Peter Shandy's attention at the Balaclava Agricultural College Christmas fete, then opts for a saccharine denouement. Also included are tepid outings from Reginald Hill, Elizabeth Peters, Patricia Moyes, Evelyn E. Smith, Bill Crider, John Malcolm, and Medora Sale. For last-minute shoppers only.